Club captain Liam Feeney has reflected on the opening games of the season and previewed this weekend’s encounter against Bromley.
The Iron midfielder first reflected on the Solihull game, which saw his side edged out 4-3. He said: “It was a really tough one to take, conceding two goals late on to give the result away was something that really hurt. We’ve had plenty of time to reflect on it, address it, and we’ve had a good week so far with putting all the fundamentals to work. We’ve been putting hard work in for this game on Saturday.”
He continued: “They [Solihull] are a decent team, and I think we caused them a lot of problems, however, we should be seeing that result out. There will be positives that we take from the game, but there are also negatives which we’ve learnt from this week. We have to make sure that it doesn’t happen again and we see those results through.”
Feeney believes it’s now about picking each other up and going again, adding: “Having a bit of heartache over the weekend is almost a good thing because you can reflect and ensure that it doesn’t happen again. However, on Monday you have to come in ready to go again, and be level headed and optimistic for the next week. You can’t drag that feeling on past Monday - once it’s addressed it’s time to move on because there’s another game, and we have loads of them to play.”
On how he’s found the National League, he said: “It’s been different and obviously there is some real quality in the league, and a lot of fight and passion. There are teams that play different ways, and we’ve come up against that in the first four games.
“We’re getting used to it and we’ve got a new group as well, but I think that the way we’re playing, the goal threat, and the energy that we play with can be a real problem for teams when we get it right. We just need to put that right on a more consistent basis, and cut out the teething problems that we’ve had up the other end."
Joe Nuttall has already scored four goals this season, and Feeney was quick to praise this, saying: “Joe’s got the lot, it’s just a matter of him putting it together. He’s doing that at the minute which is great for him and great for us. We’re going to do what we can to help him continue doing that, and giving him chances because we know he’ll score a hat full of goals.
“There’s improving to do as well though, because he’s still young, and still learning. We have to make sure we’re better as a team in every aspect as well, and that comes through defending from the front and throughout the team to make sure we get the results.”
On this weekends opponents Bromley, he said: “It’s going to be a different type of test. They’re a big, strong team who don’t concede many goals, so we’re going to be tested in that area. We’re going to go down there fully ready. We’ll have a look at their strengths and weaknesses, and try to exploit those.”
On the quality of the pitches in this season's away games, Feeney said: “The Maidenhead game stands out as a pitch which wasn’t conducive to the way we wanted to play, and it took us a bit longer than it should have to figure what we needed to do. That was another lesson for us.
“We go down to an astro pitch at Bromley, so we will have to adjust to that real quick because they’ll be used to it. It won’t be an excuse though, it’s the same game for both teams, and we’re looking forward to going down and trying to get three points.
“I’m sure after the first few bounces we will get used to it. The bounce is different to grass, but it’s consistent, so you know it’s going to be the same throughout the game."
See much more from Liam Feeney and Keith Hill on Iron Player.